USA > New York > Tompkins County > Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University > Part 3
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Again in 1857, at the time of the general bank suspension, the Mer- chants' and Farmers' Bank alone paid specie for its bills, but did it by gold drafts on Albany.
The time at length arrived when the inhabitants of this county were called upon to share in the burdens, the terrors and the triumphs of the great civil war, the records of which are enrolled upon many brilliant pages. For this work a concise account of the events of the great con- flict as they applied directly to the county must suffice.
Scarcely had the first roll of the drum been heard in the north when active operations were begun in this county. Volunteers came forward, many of them being members of the old De Witt Guard, and enrolled their names, and on the 23d of April, only six days after the first call for troops, they met to the number of sixty-one, sufficient for a company, and elected the following officers: Captain, Jerome Rowe; first lieuten- ant, James H. Tichenor; second lieutenant, William O. Wyckoff; first sergeant, William M. Godley; second sergeant, E. V. Fulkerson; third sergeant, Edward Atwater; fourth sergeant, Doctor Tarbell; first cor- poral, Leonard Atwater; second corporal, Clinton McGill; third cor- poral, James A. Dickinson; fourth corporal, George B. Shepherd. This company left for New York on the 3d of May, and by the 8th an-
19
DURING THE REBELLION.
other company was filled and commanded by Captain John Whitlock, which left on the 9th for Elmira. These organizations joined the 32d Regiment which left for the front on the 25th of June, 1861, and saw severe service during its term of three years. Military enthusiasm was at white heat. The Tompkins County Bank offered the governor $25,- 000, and J. B. Williams notified the governor that he would advance means to fully equip any volunteers raised in this county.
Meanwhile a committee appointed by the citizens of Ithaca on the 22d of April for the furtherance of military operations and particularly to raise a fund for the relief of the families of volunteers, had succeeded by May in raising nearly $9,000. As accessory to this committee the Ladies' Volunteer Association was organized on the 14th of June, and the 25th reported that they had received about $350 in cash and a vast quantity of supplies of various kinds. Miss Jane L. Hardy was secre- tary and treasurer of the association, and was conspicuous in all move- ments for the benefit of soldiers and their families; she is still living in Ithaca.
On the 7th of September, 1861, a mammoth mass convention was held in Ithaca, at which patriotic addresses were delivered by Daniel S. Dickinson, Horatio Ballard and others; the call for the convention was signed by ten or twelve columns of names in the Journal.
In the summer of 1862, when the prospects in the field were looking very dark and there seemed to be doubt about securing additional vol- unteers, the governor appointed a large committee in each senatorial district of the State to take charge of raising a regiment in each district, to apply on the 50,000 volunteers required from the State. The names of the committee for this district were Lyman Truman, B. F. Tracy, George Bartlett, Ransom Balcom, J. B. Williams, J. W. Dwight, and H. D. Barto. The committee met in Owego on the 21st of July. To aid in the work the committee appointed town committees which were for Tompkins county as follows :
Caroline-William Curtis, John Bull, William Taft, Epenetus Howe, John J. Bush.
Danby-W. A. Mandeville, T. J. Phillips, Josiah Hawes, Harvey D. Miller, E. L. B. Curtis.
Dryden -- Luther Griswold, Smith Robertson, Charles Givens, Thom- as J. McElheny, W. W. Snyder.
Enfield-W. L. Bostwick, Samuel V. Graham, Joseph Rolfe, L. H. Van Kirk, Henry Brewer.
20
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
Lansing-H. B. Lord, A. W. Knettles, J. N. Townley, David Crocker, Albert Baker.
Newfield-B. R. McAllister, C. C. Cook, Oliver Puff, P. S. Dudley, Benjamin Starr.
Groton-William D. Mount, D. B. Marsh, H. K. Clark, Charles Per- rigo, John P. Hart.
Ithaca-J. L. Whiton, George D. Beers, E. C. Seymour, L. R. King, B. G. Jayne.
Ulysses-Lyman Congdon, J. De Motte Smith, Monroe Stout, David Dumont, S. R. Wickes.
So prompt and efficient was the action of these committees that a regiment was soon filled, and another followed directly after-the first one being mustered in early in August and the latter went to the front on the 15th of September. Both of these organizations performed he- roic deeds on the battlefield and left many of their members among the honored dead in unknown graves where they fell, and in the hos- pital cemeteries.
In the prosecution of the work of securing volunteers in the summer of 1862 a great war meeting was held in Ithaca on the 25th of July, at which many well known men made speeches. Under the then existing call for 300,000 men the quota for Ithaca was 83; for Dryden, and Gro- ton, 92; for Enfield, Ulysses and Lansing, 92; for Newfield, Danby and Caroline, 84. Town committees were appointed to enroll all who were liable to draft, preparatory to the draft incident upon failure to fill the call of July 2, 1862. The quotas necessary to be raised to avoid the draft were as follows: Caroline, 72; Danby, 70; Dryden, 154; En- field, 58; Groton, 110; Ithaca, 212; Lansing, 100; Newfield, 92; Ulys- ses, 104. Total, 972. Meetings were promptly held and a subscrip- tion started to raise a fund to pay each volunteer $100 bounty; nearly $15,000 were subscribed at once. This action had the desired effect, and was about the first of a series of measures for the payment of the liberal bounties that were afterwards given to volunteers.
Enlistments were now rapid and the 109th Regiment, with compa- nies A, F, and G from Tompkins county, was mustered in on the 28th of August and left Binghamton on the 30th. Other volunteers from this county previous to the time under consideration had joined the 76th Regiment, the 64th (mustered in the fall of 1861), and other organiza- tions.
21
DURING THE REBELLION.
The 137th Regiment was raised in the 24th Senatorial District in the summer and fall of 1862 and mustered in at Binghamton September 25. Company D was largely recruited in Tompkins county.
On the 24th of March, 1862, a meeting was called in Ithaca to form a Loyal League. The attendance was large and enthusiastic. Wait T. Huntington occupied the chair, with A. M. Hull, secretary. The or- ganization was effected, with Charles E. Hardy as president, and aided materially in various ways in the promotion of the Union cause.
The 143d Regiment, in which companies D and I were almost wholly from Tompkins county, was mustercd into the service October 9, 1862.
The summer of 1863 was an exciting time. A call for 300,000 vol- unteers had been promulgated and a draft ordered for July in case the quotas were not filled, which were as follows; Ithaca, 228; Lansing, 94; Groton, 96; Dryden, 124; Caroline, 63; Danby, 51; Newfield, 83; Enfield, 54; Ulysses, 80; total, 873. The enrollment in the county was 5,379. The quota was not filled and the draft was held for this county in July. As is well known, this draft, with the commutation provision by which drafted men could pay $300 and be exempt from service, resulted in very little accession to the armies of the Union; the result was another call in the autumn for still another 300, 000 men, to be followed by a draft on January 1 for quotas not filled. Under this enrollment the quotas were as follows: Ithaca, 110; Lansing, 47; Groton, 49; Dryden, 64; Caroline, 33; Danby, 25; Newfield, 41; En- field, 27; Ulysses, 40; total, 436. Now the supervisors came forward and adopted resolutions offering $300 bounty to each volunteer under the call, and taking the necessary steps to provide the issue of $150,000 in bonds to furnish the funds. Although the quota of the county was not filled by the 1st of January, the time was extended for the draft and the necessary enlistments were made before the expiration of the ex- tension.
Under the call for 500,000 volunteers issued July 18, 1864, the Board of Supervisors offered a bounty of $300 for one year men, besides the $100 offered by the government. Enlisting agents were appointed in the several towns and the work of filling the quota went rapidly forward. The quotas were as follows: Ithaca, 158, against which there stood a credit of 108; Lansing, 66, credit 18; Groton, 73; Dryden, 96, credit 6; Caroline, 50, credit 2; Danby, 40, credit 4; Newfield, 66; Enfield, 37. credit 17; Ulysses, 57, credit 18; total quota, 643; total credit, 173,
22
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
leaving 490. These quotas were all filled by the 7th of September and the draft thus escaped.
The last call for troops was made on December 19, 1864, and the few that were lacking in the county were easily secured. The gross amount of bonds issued by the county for war purposes was $217,085. Notifi- cation was published that of these bonds $113,371 would be paid on pre- sentation at the county treasurer's office, on Feburary 25, 1866. All these bonds have been since paid.
The military organizations which included Tompkins county men were the 32d, 64th, 109th, 137th, 143d, 179th (all infantry), and the 10th, 15th, and 21st cavalry. A few volunteers may have left the county to go elsewhere and enlist. The number of enlistments from each town will be found in the later town histories. The county may ever point with just pride to the career of her soldiers in the war for the preserva- tion of the Union.
CHAPTER V.
The Panics of 1857 and 1873-The University and its History and Influence on the Growth of Ithaca-Official List of Officers before and since Organization of County- Senators-Members of Assembly-County Clerks-Superintendents of Schools.
THERE is little to record of a general character in relation to the his- tory of the county from the close of the war until the present time, that is not given in detail in succeeding chapters. The "flush times," as they were called, which immediately succeeded the great conflict, when money was plenty and all kinds of individual and corporate un- dertakings were being inaugurated, with the reaction which produced the financial stringency of 1873, are well remembered. Tompkins coun- ty did not enter so largely into the prevailing expansion after the war as many other localities, and the rebound was hence not so severe; but its effects were felt in Ithaca more than that of 1857. In 1873 there werc failures of several notable firms whese credit had previously stood high, and which had withstood the stringency of 1857. These failures were disastrous ones and their effects were long felt here.
The great university, of which the only complete history ever writ- ten is found in these pages, has grown to its present magnificent pro-
28
OFFICIAL LIST.
portions since the war ended. Ithaca as village and city has taken new life, especially in quite recent years, and promises to become an impor- tant business, educational and social center.
OFFICIAL LIST.
Previous to the organization of Tompkins county in 1817, several residents of the territory now embraced in it, held official positions in the counties in which they resided. Thus John Cantine, with Simeon De Witt, perfected a treaty with the Onondagas on the 18th of Novem- ber, 1793, by which certain lands were quit-claimed to the State.
The first meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Onondaga county was held May 27, 1794. Robert McDowell, of Ulysses, was one of the members of the board. Francis A. Bloodgood was a member of the Council of Appointment from the Western District in 1812, and a sen- ator from 1811 to 1815 inclusive. Henry Bloom was a senator in 1816- 17. Richard Townley was a member of assembly from Onondaga county in 1808 and 1809; Henry Bloom in 1809 and 1810. Oliver C. Comstock was member of assembly from Seneca county in 1810 and 1812, and member of congress three terms commencing in 1813. Da- vid Woodcock was member of congress from 1815 to 1818 inclusive. Archer Green was member of assembly from Seneca county in 1817. Benjamin Pelton was judge of Seneca county in 1809. Moses I. Can- tine was district attorney of Seneca county in 1805; and Hermon Camp was sheriff of that county in 1817 and held the same office in Tompkins county after its organization.
SENATORS .- Up to and including the year 1822, five years after the organization of Tompkins county, the State was divided into four sen- ate districts, the Southern, Middle, Eastern and Western. Henry Bloom was the only senator residing in the territory of the present county of Tompkins, until the session of 1823, when the State was again divided into eight districts, with four senators in cach district and a term of four years. Tompkins county was in the Sixth District. Peter Hager, 2d, was senator from 1826 to and including 1829. Ebe- nezer Mack was senator from 1834 to and including 1837; George D. Beers, senator from 1845 to and including 1847, when the constitution changed the districts to thirty-two in number, placing Tompkins coun- ty in the 25th. Timothy S. Williams was the first senator under this new division, serving in the sessions or 1848 and 1849. Josiah B. Will-
21
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
iams served in 1852, 1853, 1854, and 1855. Ezra Cornell, 1866 and 1867. John H. Selkreg, 1874, 1875, 1876, and 1877. Peter W. Hopkins, 1878; he died during the session and Edwin G. Halbert was elected to fill the vacancy ; he was also elected to the full term of 1880 and 1881. David H. Evans, 1882 and 1883. Edward S. Esty, 1884 and 1885. Charles
F. Barager, 1886 and 1887. William L. Sweet, 1888 and 1889. Thom- as Hunter, 1890 to 1893 inclusive. Charles T. Saxton, 1894.
ASSEMBLYMEN .- The sixth apportionment of members of assembly was in operation in 1817, when Tompkins county was erected. Seneca county then had three members, which number was reduced to two, and Cayuga four members reduced to three. Tompkins county was al- lowed two members. In 1818-19, Samuel Crittenden and John Sutton were elected members. 1820, Hermon Camp and Joshua Phillips. From November 7 to November 21, 1820 and in 1821 and 1822, Sam- uel Crittenden and Peter Hager. 1823, Jacob Conrad and Peter Hager, 2d. 1824, Peter Hager 2d, and Nicoll Halsey. 1825, Joshua North and Jared Patchen. 1826, Nathan Benson and David Woodcock. In 1827 the representation of Tompkins county was increased to three and Nathan Benson, Benjamin Jennings and John Sayler were members. 1828, Amasa Dana, Samuel H. Dean, Josiah Hedden. 1829, Amasa Dana, Samuel H. Dean, Jonathan B. Gosman. 1830, Elijah Atwater, Jonathan B. Gosman, Ebenezer Mack. 1831, John Ellis, Jehiel Ludlow, John Sayler. 1832, John Ellis, Horace Mack, John James Speed, jr. 1833, Thomas Bishop, Daniel B. Swartwood, Ira Tillotson. 1834,
George B. Guinnip, Charles Humphrey, Thomas B. Sears. 1835, Charles Humphrey, Parvis A. Williams, Caleb Woodbury. 1836, Will- iam R. Fitch, George B. Guinnip, Charles Humphrey. 1837 (num- ber of members reduced to two), Lewis Halsey, Benjamin Jennings. 1838, Elbert Curtiss, Robert Swartwout. 1839, David Bower, Jesse Mc- Kinney. 1840, Wm. H. Bogart, Robert Swartwout. 1841, Levi Hubbell, Alpha H. Shaw. 1842, Charles Humphrey, Bernardus Swartwout. 1843, Sylvanus Larned, George T. Spink. 1844, Peter Lounsberry, Charles M. Turner. 1845, Sherman Miller, Lyman Strobridge. 1846, James W. Montgomery, Henry S. Walbridge. 1847, Samuel Lawrence, Henry W. Sage. 1848, John Jessup, Alpheus West. 1849, Darius Hall, Charles J. Rounsville. 1850, Henry Brewer, Elias W. Cady. 1851, Alexander Graham, Benjamin G. Ferris. 1852, Alvah Hulburt, Ste- phen B. Cushing. 1853, David Crocker, jr., Ebenezer S. Marsh. 1854, Benjamin Joy, Eli Beers. 1855, Frederick S. Dumont, Justus P. Pen-
Suy Handlink
25
OFFICIAL LIST.
noyer. 1856, William C. Coon, Robt. H. S. Hyde. 1857, Alexander Bower, Elias W. Cady. 1858, (representation reduced to a single member), Edward S. Esty. 1859. William Woodbury. 1860-61, Jer- emiah W. Dwight. 1862-63, Ezra Cornell. 1864-65, Henry B. Lord. 1866, Lyman Congdon. 1867-71, John H. Selkreg. 1872-73, Anson Knettles. 1874, Wm. L. Bostwick. 1825, Geo. W. Schuyler. 1876, Samuel D. Halliday. 1877, Silas R. Wickes. 1878, Samuel D. Halli- day. 1879-80, Chas. M. Titus. 1881, Truman Boardman. 1882, Jno. E. Beers. 1883-4, John E. Cady. 1885, Hiland K. Clark. 1886, Chas. M. Titus. 1887, Walter G. Smith. 1888-9, Frank J. Enz. 1890-91,
1894, Edwin C. Stewart. Nelson Stevens. 1892-3, Albert H. Pierson.
COUNTY CLERKS .- Archer Green was the first clerk of Tompkins coun- ty and was appointed April 11, 1817. John Johnston succceded him February 14, 1821, and was elected in November, 1822. Samuel Love, clected 1828. Arthur S. Johnson, November, 1834. Wait T. Hunt- ington, November, 1837. Willet B. Goddard, November, 1840. Hcn- ry B. Weaver, November, 1843; he died and Ezra Weaver was appoint- cd October 2, 1846, to fill out the term. Norman Crittenden, Novem- ber, 1846. Horace Mack, November, 1849. Ezra Weaver, Novem- ber, 1852. Charles G. Day, November. 1855. Stephen H. Lamport, November, 1858. Martin S. Delano, November, 1861. Thomas J. Mc- Elheny, November, 1864 and 1867. Doctor Tarbell, November, 1870 and 1873. Orange P. Hyde, Nov., 1876. Squire B. Rolfc, Nov., 1879. Philip J. Partenheimer, November, 1882, and November, 1885; he died February 6, 1888, and Monroe M. Sweetland was appointed to fill the term expiring December 31 following. Leroy H. Van Kirk was clected in November, 1888, and re-elected in November, 1891.
COUNTY TREASURERS .- William S. Hoyt, elected November, 1848. Leander Millspaugh, 1851. Wesley Hooker, 1857. Edward C. Sey- mour, 1863. George H. Bristol, 1869. Koert S. Van Voorhees, 1875. Edward K. Johnson was appointed in the place of Van Voorhees, who resigned in December, 1877, and Johnson was elected in 1878. George H. Northrup, 1881. Charles Ingersoll, 1890, and re-elected 1893.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS .- By an act passed April 17, 1843, Boards of Supervidors of the several counties were directed to appoint county superintendents of common schools. Under this power J. T. Denman was appointed and served one term. He was succeeded by Smith Robertson. The office was abolished May 13, 1847. Since 1857 these officers have been elected under authority of an act passed
4
26
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
in 1856. The first election under this act, however, was not held until November, 1859. The commisioners for the First District were T. R. Ferguson, William W. Ayres, John D. Thatcher, Alviras Snyder, Al- bert H. Pierson, Orville S. Ensign, Andrew B. Humphrey, Amasa G. Genung, Charles Van Marter. The First District consisted of Danby, Enfield, Ithaca, Newfield and Ulysses. The charter of Ithaca city took the corporation out of the district, but the town outside remains therein. Second District-Marcus Lyon, T. S. Armstrong, Alviras Snyder, Jackson Graves, Robert G. H. Speed, James McLachlan, jr., Solomon L. Howe, Frank W. Knapp, Ella Gale. The Second District consists of the towns of Caroline, Dryden, Groton and Lansing. Al- viras Snyder appears as holding the office in both districts. He was commissioner while there was only one district prior to 1868, and also in the Second District after the county was divided.
CHAPTER VI.
Tompkins County Political Notes-Reminiscences of Important Campaigns-Vote of the County on Prominent Officials from 1817 to the Present Time-Political Offi- cials of the County, Past and Present.
WHILE the political character of Tompkins county at and since the year 1859 has been quite pronounced, previous to that date majorities were limited as to size and not definitely fixed as to party, varying at different times from one side to the other. In 1820, the first presiden- tial election after the formation of the county, Monroe received the vote, as there was practically no opposition, and the name of Daniel D. Tompkins upon the ticket for vice-president (the county being named after him) added materially to what would have been otherwise a some- what one-sided contest. In 1824, in the struggle between Jackson, Adams, Crawford and Clay, Mr. Adams had a small majority, followed by a large majority in 1828 for General Jackson, and by a smaller ma- jority for his re-election in 1832. Mr. Van Buren's majority in 1836 was very light, reaching only 150 in the county. This was reversed in 1840 and Harrison had several hundred votes over Van Buren. In 1844 Polk received a light majority, while in 1848 Taylor had a ma-
POLITICAL NOTES.
jority of some 350 over Van Buren and a very large vote over Cass. The majority for Pierce in 1852 was only 62.
The anti-Masonic excitement which swept through the State was felt in some towns of the county, where the popular vote was very . largely controlled by it, while in other towns opposition to it was very pronounced. The most marked contest upon these lines occurred in 1831 when Samuel Love and Eleazer Brown were candidates for coun- ty clerk, Love being the Masonic favorite and Brown representing the anti-Masonic sentiment. The vote of that year is given to illustrate the division. While Love received 575 majority in Ithaca and Caroline, Brown's large vote in Hector, Ulysses, Enfield and Groton, left Love
but 37 majority in the county.
2,343
580
244
146
338
238
179
205
69
235
109
Love.
2,306
174
172
279
401
69
187
118
235
346
325
Brown.
Ithaca
Lansing
Groton
Caroline Dryden
Danby
Newfield
Enfield
Hector
Ulysses
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
I
1
1
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1
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I
I
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1
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.
27
In 1853 the so-called American party first appeared in Tompkins county politics, and although failing to cast a large vote, it gave evi- dence of great vitality. Following the agitation of the compromise measures of 1850, supplemented by the threatening aspect of the slav- ery question, culminating in the anti-Nebraska legislation in 1854 and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, great meetings were held in various parts of the county, participated in by men who had before been members of the Democratic and the Whig parties. This anti- slavery agitation measurably broke up former organizations, the Whig party after the defeat of General Scott in 1852 becoming disorganized,
although Myron H. Clark, its candidate for governor, was elected in 1854. The organization of the Republican party in 1854, so far as it proceed- ed, took for its members portions of the Barn-burner or Free-soil Dem- ocrats of 1848, and the Seward or Free-soil Whigs from the Whig par- ty. Those opposed to the Democratic party who were termed Silver- Grey Whigs (so named from the silvery locks of of one of their leaders,
1
28
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
Francis P. Granger, of Canandaigua), largely entered the American party, and that party elected its local candidates by a vote of 817 to 93 at the Ithaca charter election in the spring of 1855, and county candi- dates in November by nearly 600 majority. Stephen B. Cushing, of Ithaca, candidate for attorney-general on the American ticket, was successful, and assemblymen and lesser officers also by nearly the same vote.
The Fremont campaign of 1856 was one of the most exciting ones which ever took place in this locality. Old party lines disappeared, a very heated canvass, opening in July, continued in intensity up to elec- tion, and the Fremont ticket received 4,019 votes, the Buchanan ticket 1,430 votes, and the Fillmore ticket 1,470 votes. Since 1856 Tompkins county has never given an anti-Republican majority at a presidential election, and only once were the Democrats successful on any State officer previous to 1884.
At the election of 1882, the Folger and Cleveland campaign, Presi- ident Cleveland received a majority of 929 for governor. The normal Republican majority in the county on a full vote in a national campaign can be set down as scarcely less than 1,000; it has at times reached 200 above this, and once it gave General Garfield only 454.
County officers since 1856 have been uniformly Republican, although the Democrats have succeeded in electing assemblymen five times with- in the period in question.
The temperance sentiment is quite strong in the county, many of the towns voting uniformly against license. At the election in November, 1893, the anti-saloon candidates received a vote of about 1,300, the highest ever cast by the county organization, although the mayoralty of Ithaca turned upon that question in March, 1893, the anti-saloon candidate being successful by a majority of 127.
The following table is valuable for reference, at least, showing the vote of each town in the county in the year 1817 for the several State officials :
29
POLITICAL NOTES.
Ulysses.
Hector.
Covert.
Dryden.
Lansing.
Division.
Total.
Governor,
De Witt Clinton
345
87
223
201
228
202
1286
Peter B. Porter
6
6
Lieut. Governor, John Taylor
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